Downstream

parapet and ‘dived head
foremost into the Thames’.
The bridge was crowded with
pedestrians and ‘the
excitement was intense’ as
Rawlins came to the surface
and began swimming towards
Old Swan steamboat pier.
Several ‘watermen, who
thought it was an attempt at
suicide’, rowed after him. A
captain from the London
Steam-Boat Company threw
out a rope and Rawlins, who